Junior Panorama rocks the Savannah today

Wesley Gibbings

Reigning Secondary School steelband BATCE Steel Orhcestra strikes the first notes at the Queen’s Park Savannah at 1 pm today in the first-ever Under-19 Finals of the National Junior Panorama Competition.

Performances in this category will be followed by the finals of the longstanding Under-21 matchup with Shell Invaders Youth, who play in seventh position, having topped the rest at the preliminaries.

Last year’s winners, BP Renegades Youth, play last in the day’s lineup and enter the challenge just three points behind Shell Invaders Youth. Katzenjammers Youths, which tied for tenth in the preliminaries, open the proceedings for the Under 21 bands.

There was a three-way tie for tenth place in the preliminaries. At last year’s finals, of the 12 competing bands in this grouping, nine landed in tied positions with others – four in second position, three in eighth place, and two tied in eleventh place.

The Under-19 category was introduced by Pan Trinbago this year after several school bands decided not to participate in the Ministry of Education (MOE) sponsored National Secondary and Primary Schools Panorama because of late notice and costs associated with its relocation to Skinner Park, San Fernando. It is customarily staged in Port-of-Spain.

Pan Trinbago President, Beverly Ramsey-Moore, has expressed regret at the development and told Guardian Media that by March, discussions will begin to sort out arrangements for 2027.

She explained it was the dissenting school bands that approached her organisation for an alternative arrangement.

The MOE finals are to be held tomorrow and include the traditional Primary and Secondary School categories.

As a consequence of the new arrangements, last year’s finalists Naps Combined (Naparima College/Naparima Girls High) and Holy Faith Convent Penal, will take the stage in San Fernando and not alongside other leading 2025 bands.

For the Under-19 encounter today, and to reflect the changed situation, there are several new names – though not new bands – in the Junior Panorama lineups.

For example, QRC/Providence is now contesting as Sapphonic Steel, Bishops Anstey High School is BARS of Steel, and CIC/St Joseph’s Convent is carrying a Symphony of Saints banner.

None of this, however, dampened the keenness with which the bands go into today’s competition. The judging gaps have been narrow. At the preliminaries, four points separated leaders BATCE from third-ranking St Francois Valley Stars, with Sapphonic Steel looming two points behind BATCE.

Playing Aaron “Voice” St Louis’s Retro, the Bishops Anstey/Trinity College East collaboration performed at the Exodus panyard in St Augustine in the preliminaries and set the standard for this year’s challenge for top honours.

Shell Invaders Youth also set a high bar with an exhilarating performance of Crazy’s Band From Space at the band’s headquarters in Port-of-Spain. Composer of the 2009 hit (Crazy did the lyrics), Amrit Samaroo is, ironically, the leader of the Supernovas Senior Band, whose junior cohort placed fifth at the preliminaries playing Jamtown.

Speaking of which, between both age categories, there is an arguably unprecedented number of bands playing the same song. In the Under 19 category, four bands are playing Coutain and Tano’s Jamtown while another four Under 21 bands will play the same 2025 release.

The only other song that comes close is Voice’s Too Own Way, which is being played by St Francois Valley Stars in the Under 19s and by Desperadoes Youth and Matthews Steel Orchestra in the Under-21 category.

There are no Tobago bands in the Under-19 group, but three – Katzenjammers Youths, Uptown Fascinators Youth Orchestra, and Redemption Sound Setters Youth Academy – are in the Under-21 showdown.

Supporters of other secondary school regulars and the primary schools will have to wait until tomorrow’s MOE competition. St Margaret’s Boys Anglican will be defending its 2025 title, despite placing second in the preliminaries behind Febeau Government Primary.

Unlike the Pan Trinbago contest, ten aspiring secondary school bands will play nine different songs. Freetown Collective’s Take Me Home is down for two performances in the Secondary School encounter.

ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Under 19

1. Bishop Anstey & Trinity College East (BATCE)

2. Legacy Steel Orchestra

3. Eldo East “Blue Steel” Orchestra

4. East Port-of-Spain Stars Orchestra

5. St Francois Valley Stars

6. BARS of Steel

7. Symphony of Saints

8. Knights of Steel

9. Sapphonic Steel

10. San Juan North Stars Steel Orchestra

Under 21

1. Katzenjammers Youths

2. Phase II Pan Groove Junior Steel Orchestra

3. Uptown Fascinators Youth Orchestra

4. Trinidad All Stars Youth Steel Orchestra

5. Matthews Steel Orchestral Music Academy

6. Tropical Angel Harps Youth

7. Invaders Youth Steel Orchestra

8. Fonclaire Juniors

9. Redemption Sound Setters Youth Academy

10. Desperadoes Youth Steel Orchestra

11. Supernovas Youth Steel Orchestra

12. Renegades Youth Steel Orchestra